Moving to Chicago -- how is McKinley Park? (Lincoln, Bridgeport: middle-class, sales)

[ryan0817]

Hello, this is my first post so thanks for reading... any and all feedback is appreciated. Here's my situation: I'm a single, 27 y/o male moving to Chicago for work in a few weeks. I am employed as a sales rep so I'm on the road alot (covering all of Illinois and Wisconsin) although I must be based out of Chicago, so I am currently looking for a nice, affordable and convenient place to live in the city. I will most likely rent for a few months but I plan on buying a place ASAP. I've come across some very nice listings in the McKinley Park area but I don't know anything about the neighborhood. How is the culture, nightlife and overall quality of life in McKinley Park? I've also seen some pretty nice places in Rogers Park. I know McKinley is South and Rogers is North, but how do these 2 areas compare? I need good parking and highway accessibility, but I'd also like to live in a vibrant neighborhood with bars, restaurants, coffee shops, etc. Ideally, I would like to buy in a Lincoln Park or Wicker Park/Bucktown, but I think those areas are too pricey for me at this point. Any other recommendations? Thanks!

[Drover]

Originally Posted by ryan0817

Hello, this is my first post so thanks for reading... any and all feedback is appreciated. Here's my situation: I'm a single, 27 y/o male moving to Chicago for work in a few weeks. I am employed as a sales rep so I'm on the road alot (covering all of Illinois and Wisconsin) although I must be based out of Chicago, so I am currently looking for a nice, affordable and convenient place to live in the city. I will most likely rent for a few months but I plan on buying a place ASAP. I've come across some very nice listings in the McKinley Park area but I don't know anything about the neighborhood. How is the culture, nightlife and overall quality of life in McKinley Park? I've also seen some pretty nice places in Rogers Park. I know McKinley is South and Rogers is North, but how do these 2 areas compare? I need good parking and highway accessibility, but I'd also like to live in a vibrant neighborhood with bars, restaurants, coffee shops, etc. Ideally, I would like to buy in a Lincoln Park or Wicker Park/Bucktown, but I think those areas are too pricey for me at this point. Any other recommendations? Thanks!

Well, McKinley Park is affordable and it is convenient. Other than that, it doesn't really fit your needs. First, it's not a particularly nice place. It's not bad (by urban standards anyway), but it's not nice either. It's definitely not a nightlife-oriented neighborhood. More of a family area. It's a lower-middle-class blue-collar area and the condition of the housing stock shows it. It's the kind of place you'd live if you just needed a place to crash in between work and play and didn't care if there was anything interesting to do nearby.

Rogers Park is also not particularly nice in patches, and nice in other patches. It is an unusually well-integrated mix of white-collar professionals and little dirtbags. There is a decent amount of nightlife and little shops and boutiques that give it a well-rounded city-neighborhood feel, but there is a price to be paid in RP in terms of overall quality of life and potentially in terms of being a crime victim. Do a search in the Chicago forum on Rogers Park and you'll find it's one of the most controversial subjects here. Between the two, I'd pick Rogers Park simply because I'd go out of my mind with boredom in McKinley Park. The problem is Rogers Park isn't particularly convenient to freeway access. Just getting to an expressway during rush hour could easily take over half an hour. Even during off-peak times it would still probably be a good 20 minutes.

We may be able to make other suggestions for you if you gave us a combined rental/utilities budget.

[ryan0817]

Thanks Drover, I appreciate the feedback. I'd like to stay under $1200-$1300 per month if possible. I'm open to any and all suggestions.

[andrew61]

Ditto what Drover said about McKinley Park, although I'd add that some of the old industrial buildings in the Pershing Road area are currently being converted into lofts, so that might be a sign that the neighborhood is "coming up", as the real estate folks put it. After all, Bridgeport, just to the east, is seeing a lot of new development these days. So even though the area lacks amenities such as restaurants, coffee shops, nightlife, etc., that stuff might eventually come in if the trend continues. The potential, I think, is good given that the neighborhood is fifteen minutes from downtown via the Orange Line.

For now, though, it remains a working-class area, relatively stable. And there is very cheap rent to be had. I've often thought McKinley Park wouldn't be a bad place for me to move if I ever found myself in "reduced circumstances" yet wanted to remain in Chicago.

And there is a big, beautiful park of the same name in the center of the neighborhood, complete with duck pond, etc. Possibly one of Chicago's best-kept secrets.

Personally, I find Rogers Park too scary. I just don't like it. But that's just me, I guess.

Given your $1200-$1300 a month housing budget, if you're going to rent you can live almost anywhere in Chicago on that, although in downtown and the more popular lakefront areas you'll get a much smaller space for the money than you could in other parts of town.

[Drover]

Originally Posted by ryan0817

Thanks Drover, I appreciate the feedback. I'd like to stay under $1200-$1300 per month if possible. I'm open to any and all suggestions.

Believe it or not, Bucktown/Wicker Park is within your price range, even including utilities. Furthermore, heat is often included in the rent in older buildings. Just be careful of listings in "West Bucktown" or "West Wicker Park" because what they often mean is "Humboldt Park" which isn't necessarily a good thing. Generally speaking you'll want to stay east of Western Avenue if you're looking in Bucktown/Wicker Park. I did a quick look on Craigslist and found several 2-bedrooms in Bucktown, east of Western Avenue, for under $1,000/mo.

Another area to look is Logan Square, the neighborhood immediately to the Northwest of Bucktown, right on the expressway, and easily accessible to/from Bucktown/Wicker Park via the Blue Line train or the Milwaukee Avenue bus. As far as Logan Square goes, it's best to stay east of Kedzie and south of Wrightwood.

[BRU67]

Originally Posted by ryan0817

Thanks Drover, I appreciate the feedback. I'd like to stay under $1200-$1300 per month if possible. I'm open to any and all suggestions.

If you can pay this much for rent, you have a lot of options available to you, including "It" neighborhoods like Bucktown, Wicker Park, Lakeview, Lincoln Park, Uptown, Andersonville, South and West Loop, etc. McKinley Park is ok as Drover said but there's not much to do there, and I just don't see the appeal in your case. Now, if you were looking to buy something as a long term investment, I think there would be a better argument. It's eastern neighbor Bridgeport seems to be gentrifying from east to west, so it will probably be awhile before the area becomes a true hot spot, but I think at some point, it could happen.